"Ben, You Are Not New But...": How MS Dhoni Welcomed Stokes To CSK Family
Ben Stokes was signed by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023 auction for INR 16.25 crore.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) added a big name to their roster ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season, signing England Test captain Ben Stokes for a whopping fee of INR 16.25 crore. Before the start of the season, team captain MS Dhoni officially added Stokes to the franchise by giving him a CSK shirt. Dhoni did so in a gala ceremony where all of Chennai's new recruits were officially welcomed to the franchise that has already won the IPL title four times.
During the ceremony, Dhoni was heard calling Stokes to the stage where a CSK shirt was handed to him.
"I would like to welcome all the new players. Ben, I know you are not new, but you are new for CSK so please, I request you to come on stage," Dhoni was heard saying in a video shared by the franchise on YouTube.
Chennai Super Kings begin their campaign against defending champions Gujarat Titans. The match will be between two generations of Indian cricket. At one side will be CSK skipper MS Dhoni, who took Indian cricket to new heights of success in the late 2000s to early 2010s by clinching the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup (2007), ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) and ICC Champions Trophy (2013) and became the only skipper to win these three major titles.
Dhoni replicated this success in IPL, leading the team to the title on four occasions. On the other side is GT skipper Hardik Pandya, who was pushed into superstardom after leading GT to the title in their debut season. Pandya has also led India to some wins at the international level in the shorter format and is making a case for himself as a future white-ball skipper.
The inclusion of elite all-rounders like Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, and Ravindra Jadeja makes CSK a really dangerous team. They are capable of performing whatever task that is given to them, whether it be batting or bowling. This trio is capable of everything, including power, hitting up the order, taking key wickets, and batting!
CSK has just as much depth as CSK with the presence of the aforementioned all-rounders. The presence of bowling all-rounders like Dwaine Pretorius, Deepak Chahar and Mitchell Santner is a bonus.
With ANI inputs
Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni
Ben Stokes